Within a few minutes of meeting a client the other day I heard this, “I’m just a real person.” More than likely my facial expression registered a complete blank because we are all ‘real people’ with no need for the limiting adjective ‘just’ preceding the comment. What she meant, of course, is that she isn’t a model or a fitness, figure, or body building competitor. I think she wanted affirmation, mostly from herself, and maybe a little from me, that she’s a worthy subject for our kind of photography. It’s for people like her that we started BodyPhotage so women could see the unique beauty of their body and begin to appreciate, accept and celebrate themselves.

Most of our photo sessions are a whole lot of fun but far more tame than I suspect most people might imagine, given that we are fairly well-known for nude photography. Our nudes are usually black and white with strong shadowing. While some images may have an erotic feel, they aren’t particularly showy or graphic, although people have their own definition of what is showy and what is erotic.

On rare occasions, we’ll get a phone call from someone inquiring about doing a photo shoot who begins the conversation with a lot of awkward pauses preparing me for a question I really don’t want to have to answer. So I’ll often interrupt and ask the caller if they’ve looked at our website because I think our site gives a very visual depiction of our style. For those who haven’t done their homework, I’ll suggest they take a look first and then call us back. That usually eliminates people asking if we’ll take pictures of “this “ or “that,” if you know what I mean.

So the other day, we had a call from someone who’d already met with us and booked her photo session. She started the conversation referencing our suggestion that she feel free to bring some personalized props with her for some of the shots. Then, the hemming and hawing began. “I’m a little nervous about asking you this,” and “Feel free to say ‘no’ to this,” and “I’ll understand if you don’t want to do this.” I’m thinking to myself, “Oh no. She’s going to ask me about bringing a sex toy to the shoot.” Finally she comes out with it, asking if she can bring some sexy, lace-up, black boots and an unloaded gun. Phew. That was a relief.